Bristol City set to receive takeover offer from Saudi boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh | OneFootball

Saudi boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh could be set to launch an audacious bid to buy Bristol City, but completing a deal might not be straightforward.

Bristol City could be set for a takeover bid from the Saudi boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh, who is looking to buy an English club and has his eyes firmly set on the Avon outfit.

Bristol City's solid start to the Championship season continued with a comfortable 3-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday, a result that has left them in third place in the table and as one of just three clubs in the division to still be unbeaten after five games, alongside early pace-setters Middlesbrough and sixth-placed Coventry City.

But the Robins could now be set for a different type of battle, with reports that the club could be set for an audacious takeover bid from a Saudi boxing promoter who was previously linked to the club in the summer, and who is known to want to buy into the game in this country.

Turki Alalshikh is preparing a formal bid for Bristol City

Journalist Alan Nixon reports that Saudi boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh is preparing a bid to buy Bristol City from the Lansdown's.

Alalshikh had previously been connected with a desire to buy into the club during the summer, and Nixon reports that this interest hasn't diminished.

The 44-year-old, who is an adviser at the Royal Court of Saudi and is also the Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, is also said to be looking into buying a property in the area as he gets set to submit his official offer for the club.

But there is a note of caution issued in that the Lansdown family, who currently own the club, have given little indication in the recent past that they are actually up for sale, though their heads could be turned, should a big enough offer be received.

The Lansdown family have given little recent indication of wanting to sell Bristol City

The Lansdown family have been involved at Ashton Gate since 1996, and Steve Lansdown has been the chairman of the club since 2002.

In 2022, Lansdown told the BBC that he could be open to selling the club for the "right deal".

But Lansdown doesn't speak to the press very often, and when he did so earlier this year he indicated that the club was "not close" to a potential takeover or new investment.

The Lansdowns have invested significantly into Bristol City in recent years, with substantial work having been carried out on Ashton Gate to bring it into the 21st century, with two new stands having been built and a third having been renovated.

And the club has made progress on the pitch, despite being at a disadvantage in comparison with some of their promotion rivals because they don't receive Premier League parachute payments.

There are two potential stumbling blocks to a deal of this nature. Firstly, Bristol City are part of the Bristol Sport umbrella group, which also includes the Bristol City women's team, Bristol Bears men and women's rugby union teams and the Bristol Flyers basketball team. Purchasing the club would either mean purchasing the group or separating the club from it.

And secondly, the progress that City have made over the last couple of seasons has given them the possibility of reaching the Premier League for the first time.

That might not only influence the Lansdowns from an emotional perspective. It would also dramatically increase the value of the club, meaning that selling now at a lower price might not be the wisest thing that they could do right now.

But Turki Alalshikh's interest isn't a new development and, as the man who's widely credited with having made Saudi Arabia a powerhouse within the professional boxing industry, he has the financial means to be able to make an offer that the Lansdowns wouldn't be able to refuse.